RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Sandy Payne, 58, makes reborns herself and sells between five and 10 every week.

Mrs Payne, from Camberley, Surrey, discovered the niche market at a dinner party six years ago and has since turned reborn making into a small business and 'relaxing hobby'.

The entrepreneur buys kits, then spends hours painting the bodies, knitting clothes, individually adding single hairs to the dolls' heads and baking them in the oven.

These pricey dolls - buyers have proved themselves willing to pay up to £1,000 for the tiny lifelike figures - are sold to a range of people for diverse purposes (Pictured: A newborn reborn on sale on app Shpock for £420, with the caption: 'If you are looking for the ultimate realism, this is your baby)

Some are sold to mothers who have lost a child and crave a baby to hold and others to women who desperately want a child but cannot have one (Pictured: Diverse models of reborns on sale from prices as low as £30)

The retired nurse told MailOnline: 'After a friend told me she sold a doll on eBay for £200, I had a look around and found the lifelike dolls and thought "Why not give that a go?"'

'I did a three-day crash course to learn how to make them, like how to put realistic veins on the bodies and create shading around their eyes.

'I sell to all sorts of different people. The dolls are popular with five and six-year-olds who want something a bit more realistic than Baby Annabells.

'Last week one mum came in and asked me to put a birthmark on the doll's hand in the same place her daughter has one. She said it would help her daughter, and that it was better than buying an iPad as she can play with it away from technology.

Some dolls are even fitted with breathing devices to make them as realistic as possible, such as the doll pictured above, which was advertised as 'premature baby weight'

Reborns even come as a set of twins (as pictured above), and most come kitted out with outfits for the buyer to use

Sandy Payne, 58, who makes reborns to sell, told MailOnline: 'One couple came in and asked me to create a six or seven year old child doll based on a picture of their child who died as a baby, but that was very difficult' (Image above not the doll requested by the couple)

'It can get a bit much - some people buy the dolls and have wardrobes for them and change them morning and night and even push them around in pushchairs.

'But there also are some sad stories,' Mrs Payne explained. 'I get women who can't have children buying the dolls - they come in and choose one that takes their fancy.

'One woman said to me: "I can't have children, so I have five or six of these [dolls] at home instead".'

Mrs Payne said that even though she makes the dolls with clothes, even she believes some people take things too far. 'It can get a bit much,' she said. 'Some people buy the dolls and have wardrobes for them and change them morning and night and even push them around in pushchairs' (Pictured: One of the reborns Mrs Payne made by hand)

Mrs. Payne says that she has also been approached by those who have lost children asking her to replicate their late children in doll form.

She continued: 'I have women who have lost babies coming in and giving me a picture of their child and asking me to make a doll that looks the same. And one couple came in and asked me to create a six or seven year old child doll based on a picture of their child who died as a baby, but that was very difficult.

'They can also help people who have Alzheimers and dementia, so I have provided the dolls to dementia units.

'A lot of patients carry them around, and one nurse told me giving one of the dolls to an aggressive man who wouldn't calm down, and asking him not to wake the baby, suddenly made him calm. They act as a form of therapy in a way, I think.'

'But there also are some sad stories,' Mrs Payne explained. 'I get women who can't have children buying the dolls - they come in and choose one that takes their fancy. One woman said to me: "I can't have children, so I have five or six of these [dolls] at home instead".' (Pictured: A reborn girl in a pink flowery babygrow, sold last week)

Mrs Payne sells the dolls from her home, where she has created a 'nursery' where the dolls sit and customers can come in, hold the dolls and choose whichever takes their fancy

Mrs Payne added: 'It now takes me around five days to make each doll's body and three days to hand-root the hair. Each layer [of the doll] has to be baked in the oven, and my husband used to think having the limbs lying around and being put in ovens was a bit strange.

'But it's a relaxing hobby and my family now enjoy people coming in to choose their dolls. I have a nursery full so people can walk in and choose their favourite after holding them.'

One reborn buyer said she initially bought the dolls because she was 'fascinated' by how lifelike they looked online and admitted her own had been mistaken for a 'real baby', while another said she displays her collection in her home to make 'a nice talking piece when people visit'.

Most dolls sell for between £200 and £1000, with Sandy sells her reborns for anything from £55 to £300, depending on the intricacy and time involved in creation, while prices on Shpock start from £30.

The dolls are sold either with their eyes open or closed (as pictured above) depending on the customer's preference

Having one of the reborns around has been proven to help soothe dementia patients, according to Mrs Payne (Pictured: A reborn with a child's dummy and blankets)

One reborn buyer said she initially bought the dolls because she was 'fascinated' by how lifelike they looked online and admitted her own had been mistaken for a 'real baby' (Pictured: A lifelike reborn with flushed face and reddened nose)